Another One of a Kind
by Bridgette Potter
Summary: Aang gets hurt and he can't move much but Katara mets a new girl. The girl helps but she takes them home and the gang find another person to help them. Few OC. Maybe a little Kataang.
1. Chapter 1

Another One of a Kind By: Bridgette Potter 

---_There was a girl standing in front of him with her back to him. She just stood there doing nothing but looking at something he couldn't see._

_"Hello?" called Aang to the girl._

_The girl said nothing. A breeze started up and stirred the girl's pale yellow dress and her dark brown hair that hung lower than her waist._

_"Hello? Who are you?" called Aang again to the girl._

_This time she giggled and started to walk away from Aang toward an unseen destination._

_"Hey wait come back," said Aang he started to follow her slowly so as not to startle her. They walked for a while until all of a sudden the girl was gone. Aang ran to where he last saw her but found no sign of her. He heard a noise and turned toward the dark trees that towered over him in his airbending stance. He saw a pair of eyes staring at him from the gloom of the trees. Then he noticed a red glow coming toward him. He tried to dodge the flame but it came at him anyways and got him full in the face.--- _

Aang woke up with a start. He noticed he was sweating. He looked over to where Sokka was just snoring away. He pulled on his shirt, picked up his staff and walked out of the stuffy tent into the cool night. He walked over to where Appa was sleeping.

Appa woke up when he heard Aang coming and groaned. The young Avatar petted Appa until the 10-ton flying bison fell back asleep. Aang climbed onto Appa's head and laid down his back with his hands behind his head. He gazed up at the stars that danced across the night sky. Aang thought about how beautiful the sky looked at night and how beautiful life was and how his friend Katara was.

Aang woke up smelling sausage being cooked and nuts being roasted. He leapt gracefully off Appa and turned toward Katara who was making breakfast. "Morning Katara," said Aang. He walked over to where the girl was sitting and sat down.

"Morning Aang," said Katara with a smile. She looked up from her cooking when Sokka and Toph came out of their tents.

Toph's hair was all on top of her head in a big puff. And Sokka's was all matted and looked like it never have ever seen a brush before or even heard of one. They sat down on opposite sides of the fire and helped themselves to the cooking food. They both ate with such gusto that Katara and Aang had to make an excuse to leave to get out of there.

Katara and Aang each grabbed a couple of water skins and walked over to a nearby river where they filled the skins and sat down to bask in the sun. Then Aang stood up and splashed Katara and started to laugh.

"Oh you think its funny do you?" laughed Katara. She bended some water to slash Aang right back. Aang stood a moment there laughing then took off his shirt and pants and waded into the slow moving river so he could get at Katara better. They splashed each other for a while until they grew tired. Aang came back in and put his clothes back on before sitting next to Katara on the mossy bank laughing.

"Well aren't you two a cute couple," said a menacing voice.

Aang and Katara turned to see who it was but they knew who it was already. They jumped up and got into their bending stances. They each faced a different direction waiting for something to jump out of the shadows.

"Zuko," whispered Katara. She streamed some water and held it between her hands so she could use it if Zuko attacked. She looked all over but couldn't find the banished prince. Then she felt an arm encircle her waist. She tried to get away but the arm held her fast to the owner's body. Then she saw a ball of fire in front of her face and stopped struggling incase she burned her self.

Aang didn't notice Prince Zuko until he saw a red flame out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face him and to blow him away but he found someone else there. Prince Zuko had Katara! "Let her go now!" shouted an angry Aang.

The flame flared up a bit and Zuko replied, "Now, now watch what you say or your little friend could get accidentally burned." He moved the flame in front of Katara's face and she tried to shrink away but he kept her still with his arm around her waist.

Aang twirled his staff and stood it in front of himself. "Ok then what do you want?" asked Aang even though he knew the answer already.

"You come with me and your friend won't get burned," growled the prince. _Whoosh. Clank. _And Zuko fell forward losing his grip on Katara and falling into the shallow river.

"Come on you guys. We gotta go," said Sokka as he jogged over to get his boomerang. He didn't have to tell Aang and Katara. They all ran to the camp and found all the stuff on Appa and Toph waiting for them to get on. They all clambered onto Appa and just as Katara got on did Zuko appear in the clearing with several guards.

"Yip, yip," said Aang to his flying bison. Appa thrust off of the ground and started to fly away.

Prince Zuko decided to give them a few gifts before they left and said, " Fire!" A few dozen red-feathered arrows flew toward the group. Most missed but one or two got Appa who groaned in pain and one arrow found its mark. It was a special black-feathered arrow that Prince Zuko shot himself. All Aang knew after he heard "Fire!" was a red-hot searing pain in his left shoulder, darkness, and the sense of falling.

Aang woke up slowly. His whole body ached for some odd reason. Then he felt the pain. His left shoulder felt like it was on fire or that Appa had stepped on it. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the ceiling of the tent he was in. He turned his head to the side and saw Katara kneeling near him asleep. Aang moved his left hand to wake her but instantly regretted it. He moaned and turned his head again so he was looking up again. Then Katara's face was in front of his looking down at him with deep concern.

"Here this should help a bit," said Katara. She took a few leaves from a pouch she had and added them to some warm water she had. She mixed it into a dull green paste and pulled down the blanket that covered him so she could see the wounded shoulder. She smeared it on his shoulder and he gasped from pain. "Sorry, sorry. It's supposed to sting a bit but it'll help heal the wound."

"Katara…?" whispered Aang. He looked over at her but she put her finger to his lips.

"Shhh. You shouldn't talk. You need to rest and save your strength," said Katara.

"What happened?" whispered Aang. Katara shook her head and set to work washing Aang's shirt, which he noticed had blood on it. "Katara?" whispered Aang again.

Katara sighed sadly and set aside the bloody shirt. "I don't think I should tell you Aang. You're still healing."

"Katara what happened," whispered the hurt 12-year-old.

"You were shot by Prince Zuko with a black-feathered arrow. It had a strange powder on it that seems to make the wound slow to heal," said Katara sadly as she watched Aang to see how he took the news.

Aang could tell she was holding something back but didn't ask. He rolled over onto his good shoulder with his back to her. Then he realized the blood on his shirt was _his_. He soon fell asleep into a dream less sleep.

Katara sat there for a while watching the young airbender until she was sure that he was asleep again. She grabbed a wooden bowl and a clean cloth and walked toward a nearby pond. She walked past Toph and Sokka who were playing a game of stones. And naturally Toph was winning. Katara smiled as she went past them and walked down a forest path to the pool.

When she got there she noticed how beautiful it looked when the sun's rays hit the pool. There were dragonflies darting across the water like skipping stones and the reeds reflected on the royal blue of the water. She went over and bended some of the cleanest water into her bowl so she could use it later to wash Aang's wound. Then in an instant she was inside a grass woven cage. Through the slits between the grass she saw a girl walk out of the shadows of the trees and stand in front of Katara. The girl didn't look older than 12 and had light brown hair cut short. Then with a slight hand movement the grass started to close in on Katara. The grass threatened to suffocate her.

"Please let me go," pleaded Katara, "I have a wounded friend and I need to be with him. He probably won't make it if I'm not there to help him."

The girl looked like she was thinking for a bit and with a wave of her hand the grass retreated to its normal length. Katara looked at the grass in amazement then saw that the girl had melted back into the shadows. Katara shook her head, gathered her things and walked back to camp.

When Katara got back she went to check on Aang and saw he was still sleeping. She set down the bowl of water and set to cleaning his wound. Aang moaned a bit but kept sleeping. Then she heard a commotion outside. She grabbed her water skin and flew out of the tent ready to fight. She saw Sokka in a woven cage made of grass and saw the girl she had seen earlier, but she had several plants with her. Toph was off to the side waiting to see what would happen. The girl walked over to Katara and stepped into the tent. Katara was worried about Aang and wanted to see what the girl would do. Katara followed the girl and found her kneeling by Aang mixing the plants into a white paste. She smeared it onto the wound. Aang didn't even flinch but kind of sighed in relief.

"Let me see the arrow that pierced him," said the girl as she held out her hand. She didn't take her eyes off of Aang to see how he was doing. Katara placed the ill-fated arrow into the girl's outstretched hand. The girl looked at it closely from the metal arrowhead to the black-feather fletching. She rubbed her forefinger along the shaft and sniffed whatever came off on it. "Badum powder and lacium. Enough badum for its effect to last 5 days. And the lacium makes the wound heal more slowly than it would without," stated the girl.

"What does badum do?" asked Katara. She had never heard of it before.

The girl blinked slowly at her for a few seconds and replied, "Badum takes away any bending you may have."


	2. Chapter 2

"It takes it away? How could it do that? How do you know that?" asked Katara.

"Yes it takes your bending away. It blocks up your chi if it gets in your body. I know this because if you haven't noticed I'm a plantbender and I naturally know about what certain plants do," replied the girl patiently.

"Wait. How can I trust you? I don't even know your name. For all I know you could be plotting to kill Aang," said Katara.

"My name is Jamin. Why would I heal him if I planned to kill him? I wouldn't try to kill him anyways. I heal not kill," said the girl. Jamin stood up and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" called Katara, "Is Aang going to be okay?"

Jamin turned her head slightly so she could see Katara out of the corner of her eye. Katara looked worriedly at Aang then at Jamin. "I'm going to look for some more herbs. Yes he is going to be okay if I keep treating him. But soon I'll have to leave to go home." Jamin walked out of the tent and walked into the trees but before that she released Sokka from his grassy prison.

Sokka tumbled out when the grass retreated. He sat down hard and looked around sort of dazed. "Who was that?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it was pretty funny that she got you in one move," chuckled Toph.

"She did not!" protested Sokka. "Okay yeah she did."

"Her name is Jamin," interrupted Katara, "She's a plantbender and she helped Aang."

"How did she know he was hurt?" asked Sokka.

"I told her Aang needed me when she captured me earlier," said Katara. She sat down and told them how she had met the mysterious girl.

When she was done Sokka asked, "How is he doing? Did she heal him?"

"He's okay. He's sleeping right now. She said that lacium was what was slowing the healing and that he would be okay if she kept treating him," said Katara.

"Well that's good news," said Sokka. Katara looked away and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well there was another powder on the arrow called badum," started Katara.

"And…?" prompted Sokka with a flourish of his hand.

"It's supposed to take away any bending you have. And she said the amount he has in him is going to last 5 days. She also said that soon she'll have to leave. And I was thinking we should probably go with her so she can help Aang," said Katara all with one breath. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked at Sokka to see what her brother's reaction was.

"Whha-What! We don't even know anything about her! And you just expect us to follow her! She could take us to the Fire Nation! And that wouldn't be good especially if Aang can't bend at all!" exploded Sokka.

"Well she did heal Twinkle Toes and she seems okay to me," cut in Toph. Katara nodded her approval.

Sokka stood up, picked up his boomerang and walked away mumbling, "I can't believe this! We're supposed to follow a girl we don't even know and just hope she doesn't lead us into a trap."

Katara shook her head at her brother and stood up. "Come on Toph we should probably eat. It's getting late." Katara went over to their supplies and started to fix dinner.

While they were eating Sokka came back and helped himself to some roasting chicken-pig meat. "I guess it's okay if we go with Jamin," mumbled Sokka.

Just as he said that Jamin stepped out of the shadows. "Well that's so nice of you to think so." She set down some herbs she had and started to separate them into two piles. When she was done she gathered the smaller pile and started to chew on the roots.

"Katara?" said a weak voice, "Where are you?" Katara grabbed a bowl and some broth and went into the tent Aang was in. Aang was sitting up even though it looked like his shoulder still hurt. Aang gave her a weak smile and said, "Looks like your paste is working."

Katara smiled weakly back at him and sat down next to him. "It wasn't the paste. It was a girl named Jamin. She healed you. She even told us what powders were on the arrow. She said there was lacium which makes wounds slow to heal."

"You said powders. What was the other powder?" asked Aang

Katara looked away and broke the news to him gently, "There was also badum on the arrow. It's supposed to take away any bending abilities you have."

Katara didn't look at him. She knew his face must have looked dumbfounded. She could tell he tried to airbend with his good arm but nothing in the tent stirred. He next tried to waterbend the broth she had brought but there wasn't much of even a ripple.

"It can't work on me. I'm the Avatar. It can't work on me," said Aang unbelievingly. He tried to airbend again but yet again nothing happened.

"You should stop. You're wasting your energy trying to airbend," said a voice from the door of the tent.

Aang looked up from his attempts and saw a stranger standing in the door. "Who are you?" asked Aang.

"Aang this is Jamin. The girl I told you about," said Katara soothingly to Aang.

"How did you know I was trying to airbend?" asked Aang.

Katara's head snapped up with a confused look. "Yeah how did you know he was trying to airbend?" asked Katara as she turned toward Jamin.

Jamin shrugged and said, "I have my ways." She walked over to Aang. Knelt down and checked his shoulder. "It seems to be healing fine. I think you can travel tomorrow but sparingly. You better sleep. We have a days travel ahead of us." She stood up and walked out of the tent.

"Katara where are we going?" asked Aang.

"We're going with Jamin so she can keep treating you," replied Katara.

"Oh. Well good night Katara," said Aang. He grabbed Katara's hand, gave it a slight squeeze, curled up and fell asleep.

_"What was that about?" _thought Katara, _"He has never done that before. Maybe it was just because he needed reassurance with that wound and all. Then why do I feel all fluttery inside?"_ Katara brushed her shoulder as if to brush the fluttery feeling away, laid down near Aang and fell asleep.

Katara woke up slowly and stretched. Someone had put a blanket on her sometime in the night. She lay there listening to the birds then she noticed she couldn't hear Aang breathing. She started to panic that maybe he died and sat bolt up. She looked around the tent but couldn't find him. She scrambled out of the tent and gave a sigh of relief. Aang was near the fire eating and playing with Momo.

"Hi Aang. I see you're feeling better," said Katara as she walked over to her friend.

Aang turned to her with his lopsided grin on his face. "Hi Katara. I feel great," he rotated his left shoulder, "Except this dull pain in my shoulder." He grimaced a little and turned back to his bowl of rice.

Katara kneeled next to him and said, "Here let me see your shoulder. Take off your shirt."

Aang slipped it over his head and let it float into a pile in his lap. He looked over at Katara. She looked at his shoulder in determination. She gingerly touched his skin. He shivered with happiness on the inside. _"She is so beautiful," _he thought, _"I just wish I could tell her how I feel, but she'll probably just laugh at me or something else."_

He blushed a little and Katara noticed. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Aang blushed even more, shook his head and turned away. "Are you done?" he asked. When she didn't answer he put his shirt back on, got up and checked on Appa.

_"I wonder why he was blushing. All I was doing was looking at his wound. Which looks okay. It's still pretty red though. That paste really helped it," _thought Katara as she fixed herself some breakfast.

After Katara had eaten and had packed everything for their journey Jamin stood up and announced, "We should be going now if we are going to make it before dark." She grabbed her sack, slung it over her shoulder and started to walk toward the trees that were north of the clearing.

"Wait shouldn't we take Appa? No offense, but it'll be quicker than walking in a damp forest," said Sokka as he indicated the 10-ton flying bison.

"No offense but we won't be able to find it if we fly. Where I live its not in a clearing and I'm not sure if I could find it from the air agi-," said Jamin.

Sokka looked at her puzzled but didn't push. "Well Katara and I can walk," said Sokka as he turned toward the rest of the group, "And Toph and Aang can ride on Appa until the branches get too low."

"How come I have to ride Appa? It was my shoulder that got injured not my feet," complained Aang.

"Appa was injured too and since he's your bison you need to be with him to comfort him," replied Sokka.

"Oh." Aang kicked a clod of dirt and climbed onto Appa. He sat down in the front of the saddle and started to pet Appa to let him know he was there.

Toph climbed up and sat near him. "Don't worry I don't bite Twinkle Toes. Much. Are you afraid to ride with me? Well you better not because this is going to happen a lot I bet."

"What?" asked Aang. He turned to Toph and met her smirk.

"Sokka has finally noticed the looks you give Katara and he's going to try to separate you two so nothing will 'blossom'," replied Toph.

Aang blushed and watched Katara walk in front of them then noticed Sokka watching him with shrewd eyes and turned away and started to pet Momo to distract himself from Katara.


	3. Chapter 3

Aang had been walking for 4 hours with Toph because Sokka didn't want him to be near Katara when he heard a twig snap behind them. He twirled around but couldn't see anything. He thought he saw a running shadow but there wasn't anything there. He turned to follow the others but a face was right in front of his. The face had a big grin on its face and it had long brown hair bordering it.

Aang backed up a bit and looked at the person standing in front of him. She looked about 11 or 10 and looked a bit like Jamin. She had on an ankle length dress. The pale yellow dress looked oddly familiar. "Um…hi?" said Aang nervously. He inched slowly away from the strange girl.

The girl giggled and turned toward Jamin. "You better hurry home Jamin Mother is starting to worry. And you know how she gets."

Everyone stopped walking and turned toward the intruder. Well everyone except Jamin. With her back to the girl she said, "I'm on my way home right now if you don't mind Malu."

Everyone looked from Jamin to Malu to Jamin again. They waited to see what Jamin was going to do about this strange new girl.

The girl Malu spoke again, "Oh before I forgot Jamin Mashati had another one. Oh it's so cute. It's just a runt compared to his siblings but Mother promised him to me. I haven't figured out what to name him though. Maybe Soske or Sa Le or maybe even Fong." She rambled on until she remembered there where other people there. "Oh pardon me." She bowed to the confused people gathered around her and said, "My name is Malu. I see you have met my sister Jamin. What are your names?"

The group quickly regained their postures and introduced themselves. The bowed in turn before they said their names. They went around in a circle starting with Sokka and ending with Aang.

Malu stood a second pondering their names then said to Jamin, "Didn't great great grandmother know an Aang? She said he was something special. Ahh I remember." She snapped her fingers, squinted at Aang, pointed an accusing finger at him and said, "You're the Avatar!" She jumped up very high and exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew it! I felt another airbender close by!"

Aang looked puzzled and said, Wait, if you felt me nearby and you said another airbender. That means you're an… How can that be? I thought I was the last airbender. How can you be an airbender and Jamin be a plantbender?"

"You haven't told them about our unique family Jamin? You bad girl. You should be proud of your family," said Malu to Jamin.

Jamin still had her back to Malu, but grumbled and sat down. Everyone else sat down following her example.

"What's so special about your family? Some people think my family is special just because they're nobles," said Toph.

"My-our family is huge. It streaches into each nation. Our family is known for our unusual marriages. For example our mother is from the Earth Kingdom of Ba Sing Se. She came from this family of unusual marriages. And our father is a soldier from the Fire Nation. They met when he was invading Ba Sing Se under the command of The Dragon of the West. They married in secret but he had to leave because The Dragon of the West ordered a retreat. Mother moved out here to be with her family when she found out she was pregnant. He is still fighting, but once in awhile when his division is near he'll come by.

"In our family firebenders have married waterbenders, earthbenders married airbenders, all sorts of different combinations. Some bendings skip a few generations and other bendings mingle together to make new benders," said Malu. She was apparently enjoying herself telling them about her family.

"Wow that is an amazing family. So that explains how you are an airbender and Jamin a plantbender. That would also explain how Jamin knew that Aang was trying to airbend earlier," said Katara when Malu was finished.

Aang leaned back to rest his hands on the earth, but it sent pain into his shoulder. He fell back with a cry and his landing on the hard ground reopened his wound. It started to flow his blood anew on his shirt like a flower starting to bloom. Then everything started to appear black around the edges. He tried to grab on to conscious and stay awake but he soon fell into a black void in his mind. The last thing he remembered was everyone shouting his name and Katara looking down at him with tears in her eyes.

Katara looked at the sleeping boy laid down next to her. He looked calm compared to a few minutes before when he was twisting the blankets until he was in a cocoon and yelling out. Katara had to gently unwrap him herself. _"I really hope he gets better soon," _thought Katara. Just the other day they had arrived at Jamin's and Malu's house. It was completely surrounded by plants that no doubt Jamin had formed to keep away prying eyes. It was a simple, but big house. They were now in one of its many rooms that fit on the 1st floor. There were several gardens where Jamin grew the family's produce.

Jamin and Malu had several brothers and sisters. There was Jojo the eldest girl. She was an earthbender and really pretty. There was Zin the eldest boy and he was a firebender just like his father. He was extremely hansom but he didn't seem all that interested in other people. He didn't seem all that thrilled that Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph were there but he quickly took a liking to Toph because of her don't care attitude. There was also Kana who was a year older than Jamin. She was a waterbender and looked a lot like her mother. Katara was happy to find another waterbender to talk about waterbending techniques other than her waterbending pupil Aang. Then there was the youngest brother Tao. He was Malu's twin and he really wasn't a bender, but he had several great talents. He was a whiz cook and had a special gift with animals. He was taking care of Appa and Momo so they could rest a bit.

"Katara?" Katara snapped out of her daydream and kneeled down next to Aang. "This scene looks oddly familiar doesn't it?" joked Aang weakly.

"Yeah," laughed Katara weakly. "Do you think you can eat? I have some broth."

Aang nodded his head and Katara spooned broth into his mouth. He sputtered a bit but was able to swallow it. He turned his head away from Katara and stared at the wall. "I wish you couldn't see me this way Katara. Just go please," he murmured.

Katara felt something in her sink. She looked at him worriedly but she stood up and walked out of the room so he could be by himself to think.

Aang watched Katara leave out of the corner of his eye. He sighed and looked at the closing door. Then he looked out of the window at the foot of his bed and saw Toph talking with Zin while they sat in one of the many gardens Jamin had. _"I wish Katara was back,"_ he thought as he sighed again.

The door opened and Jamin walked in. She quietly checked his wound and smeared some white paste on his wound. While she was doing this she said, "You seem troubled. What's the matter?"

Aang scowled and said, "Nothing's the matter. Can I get up soon?"

"Stop changing the topic. Yes, I think you can get up this afternoon," replied Jamin. "I can tell you are troubled. What's the matter? You can tell me. I won't tell anyone," said Jamin more comforting than usual.

Aang sighed sadly and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do if I can't bend. There are firebenders all over the place looking for me and…"

"And what?" asked Jamin. She blinked owlishly and waited patiently for Aang's answer.

"Nothing," said Aang. He closed his eyes and willed Jamin to leave the room so he could sleep.

"But it's okay I won't tell—"

"Nothing!" said Aang angrily. His tattoos glowed a bit but no wind started up like it usually does. Aang looked and felt shocked. He didn't know that could still happen when he couldn't bend.

Jamin walked toward the door, turned her head slightly and looked at Aang's shocked expression. "You didn't know you could still do that?" With that she left Aang staring after her confused.

" _How did she know I could even do that? Wow I can still do that? Wow,"_ thought Aang. He laid down and thought awhile but finally fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

---_He was in the underground city that was under the palace in Ba Sing Se. He saw Katara fighting with Zuko. It looked like she was winning with her advanced waterbending. He saw a flash of blue fire and saw Azula fighting something at the roof of the cave. Then he saw himself hurtling rocks at Azula. He was looking at everything it seemed from outside of his body. _

_He turned back to Katara and saw Zuko break her defense. She fell to the ground and was slow to get back up. Aang tried to yell something but nothing escaped his lips. He looked at his fighting self but he kept fighting Azula. He saw Zuko advance on Katara with a fire dagger. He stooped down and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand with a hateful and yet caring face. Aang saw the look of fear in Katara's eyes, the sneer on Zuko's face and the fire dagger go deep into her flesh. It went between her ribs and into her heart. He saw Katara's eyes shift to his fighting self then they locked onto his. Then he saw her cerulean eyes go dull and lifeless. He watched her body fall lifeless to the dirty ground. Zuko stood over her body with a sneer plastered onto his face. _

_Aang tried to call out to himself but nothing escaped his ghostlike lips. But his fighting self turned anyways without any prompt and saw Katara's lifeless body and Zuko standing over her in the middle of a giant puddle. He stopped fighting and stared at Katara's body not believing in what he was seeing. Azula saw her chance and shot a powerful lightening bolt at the distracted Avatar. Aang fell from the ceiling, landed hard and didn't move at all when Azula rolled him over triumphantly with her foot. Aang couldn't believe it. He just saw himself and Katara die. He moaned and Azula and Zuko turned his way a little surprised but nonetheless they fired all their firepower at him. ---_

Aang woke with a start. He sat bolt up, noticed the sheets all tangled up and noticed he was drenched with a cold sweat. Then he realized someone was sitting next to him. He looked over and saw Katara looking at him worriedly. "Hi," said Aang as he acted as if he hadn't had a nightmare. He yawned and untangled himself from the sheets. H noticed she was still looking at him. "What's the matter?"

Katara quickly shook her head to dislodge her worries. "Oh nothing. I came to tell you, you can get up. I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk."

"Sure," replied Aang. He got out of his bed, got dressed and walked out into one of the many gardens ahead of Katara.

Aang balanced himself on a log that ran the length of an outer garden and started to walk away from the house. Katara started to walk beside him on the ground. They talked a bit about their early childhoods. They soon drifted into their own thoughts. But the air between them was uneasy.

"You know what? I might not live till fall," said Aang casually.

"Don't talk like that!" gasped Katara. She put her hand to her mouth and stopped walking.

Aang took a few more steps then lightly stepped off the log. "Well it is true. And I wanna' start doing things that are spontaneous." Katara looked at him with her right eyebrow raised. "Oh okay more spontaneous." He felt something wet fall onto his baldhead. He looked up and for the first time that day saw low gray clouds in the sky.

The rain started to fall onto the house's tin roof. It made a bit of a rhythm and it gave him an idea. He looked at her for a moment, watched her turn happy as the water fell on her and stream down her clothes. He held out his hand and asked, "Want to dance?"

Katara opened her eyes and turned surprised to Aang. "What? Now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just said I wanted to be more spontaneous. Lets dance," replied Aang still holding out his hand to her.

"But there isn't any music," argued Katara.

"Yes there is. The music of the rain," said Aang.

Katara shrugged and gracefully placed her hand in his. He lightly placed his other hand on her waist and she put hers on his shoulder. He didn't even as much as flinch. They twirled around and around on the path in the rain. He spun her out and spun her back into him. He dipped her a few times and they danced into a clearing in the forest.

The grass was still dry because the leaves of the surrounding trees caught the raindrops as they fell. Aang and Katara fell onto the ground laughing and breathless. They lay there awhile catching their breath. They both looked up at the same time and noticed that their faces were close together. Aang could feel the warmth and the sweetness of her breath on his face. He moved closer until there was a centimeter between them He stopped for a moment then moved closer until his lips brushed hers. Katara's heart started to beat faster in her chest. When he started to move away she closed the widening distance and placed her lips on his. He stiffened a bit in surprise but quickly loosened up and kissed her back.

After a moment Aang broke away from their kiss, his face a deep rose. He quickly muttered, "Sorry," and quickly walked away, leaving Katara in the clearing.

Katara sat up slightly embarrassed. She sat there until she knew for sure Aang was back at the house and walked slowly back thinking about this new feeling that she felt overflowing in her heart when she had kissed Aang. _"What is this new emotion?" _she thought, _"Does it mean I want to be more than friends? Oh I don't know. This is al so confusing."_

While Aang was walking back he thought, _"Why in the world did I do that? She probably hates me now. Now she'll never talk to me again."_

Later when the rain had stopped Aang asked Malu to show him her airbending moves. They walked over to a bare patch of ground that looked quite odd compared to the rest of the property. She only knew some simple moves and showed them to Aang. She knew how to make the wind blow and how to fly a bit. She had made something like a kite. She demonstrated her flying abilities to Aang and he was impressed.

"I spend most of my time flying. I think it's the best part of being an airbender. Don't you think so too?" said Malu as she landed effortlessly next to Aang.

"Yeah, well that and going around on an airscooter. That's pretty fun and so is flying on a flying bison," said Aang in reply. "Maybe when I get my airbending back I can show you a few moves including the airscooter that I made up myself."

"Really? Oh that would be so much fun! It's quite fun flying on a bison also. But we haven't been allowed to fly anymore because we could be mistaken for you. And Mother wouldn't like that," said Malu as she shook her head. Her brown tresses slapped her face and Aang remembered why she looked so familiar.

"_She's the girl from my dream. That's strange. Why would I dream about her? Oh well,"_ thought Aang as they walked back to the house. Then he stopped puzzled. "How could you know how it feels to fly on a bison?" he slapped his forehead. A habit he got from Sokka. "Let me guess you have flying bison?"

"Yeah, Mashati and Twishato and all their babies. Would you like to see them? I'll show you," said Malu as she led Aang toward a large barn that was camouflaged in the forest.

* * *

A/N

This all happens after the end of Season 2. They had left the Earth Kingdom King in a safe place.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi ya'll! Sorry I took so long to update. Well the next two chapters are about mini adventures of Sokka and Toph when they have time by themselves. Don't kill me if you think they suck.

-AvataraAirbender-HawkeyeManiac

* * *

Sokka was hiding in the barn. He just ended up there after he thought someone was following him. He was behind several large bales of hay that were slowly but steadily being eaten by the harboring flying bison.

_"I bet I'm just being paranoid," _thought Sokka as he started to stand up. Then he heard voices and quickly ducked down. _"Oh no they've come to finish me off. Well they won't get me that easily. Well as soon as I get my courage up."_ He listened in on the conversation.

"How did your family get flying bison?" asked a voice.

"My great great grandfather Gyatso gave my great great grandmother Malu a pair of flying bison as a promise that he would come back for her. Oh it sounds so romantic. But he never did come back. The Fire Nation killed him along with the rest of the airbenders except of course you," said another voice.

Then Sokka heard nothing except the moaning and eating of the 4 giant flying bison that resided in there. He wondered where the people went and thought they probably left.

"Boo!" yelled Aang as he jumped out from around the haystack. Sokka practically jumped out of his skin and fell back on to the ground with a loud _thud_. Aang started to laugh and Malu came around the bend laughing. "What…are…you…doing…Sokka?" asked Aang between outbursts of laughter

"None of your business Aang," said Sokka angrily. He picked himself off of the ground and dusted straw off of himself.

"I'm sorry Sokka. I just couldn't help my self," said Aang as he quieted down. "But seriously, what are you doing here? Are you hiding from someone?"

"No, I'm not," said Sokka loudly. He looked around and Aang and Malu looked around too. He leaned towards them and whispered, "Okay yes I am. Someone or something keeps following me but I can't seem to catch them in the act."

"Why don't you try to catch them?" asked Malu. "You could set up a net or two and lead them to it. But without setting it off yourself of course." Said Malu excitedly. She seemed really syked about her plan.

"Yeah we could do that. Come on lets go get some nets and some rope," said Aang caught up in the excitement.

Later when Sokka was sharpening his boomerang outside he said quite loudly, "I think I'll go for a walk now. Yep I think I'll go take a walk in the woods. I hope no one follows me." He made a lot of noise getting up and walking towards the trees. He walked about 2 miles until he saw the big red oak where the nets were set up. He looked down so he could step over the triggers. Then he heard several things go up and heard several shouts. He turned quickly and saw Toph, Zin, Jojo, and Tao hanging from the branches like old laundry. He looked at them stunned. _**They all followed him?**_

"Hey Snozzels, let us down. If you don't I'm going to kick your butt as soon as I get solid earth under my feet," said Toph.

Sokka finally woke up from his stupor and quickly but gently set them on the ground.

As soon as Toph disentangled herself she stomped her foot and sent a pentacle of earth to shoot Sokka skywards. "That's for trapping us."

"But you guys were following me," exclaimed Sokka after he had painfully picked himself up.

"Yeah so. That doesn't mean you had to trap us and make me blind to the world around me. I can't 'see' that well in the air," retorted Toph.

Sokka decided not to point out that she was blind anyways. "Ok, okay I'm sorry I trapped you guys." They kept standing there looking at him. "I said I was sorry what more do you want?" grumbled Sokka.

They all turned and left but before they burst out laughing. Sokka sank to the ground embarrassed when he noticed that Toph was laughing the loudest. They kept laughing until they were out of his hearing range.

_"Why does she torture me so?"_ thought Sokka as he played with some smooth blue stones he had found earlier and had stuffed them in his pocket. He didn't notice them softly glowing when he was rubbing them. _"Why do I care? People seem to do that a lot to me. So why am I thinking of all of this?"_ He mindlessly put the stones back into his pocket. He got up and walked deeper into the woods trying to sort out his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Toph collapsed onto a rock and laughed, "Oh my gosh, that was so funny! I wish I could have seen his face when he saw all four of us hanging in the tree. Literally."

Everybody followed her example and collapsed onto the ground laughing. "Yeah it was so funny. He looked so shock to see all four of us," said Jojo between outbursts of laughter.

Tao rolled around on the ground just helpless with laughter. Zin was laughing but not as happy as the others. He never was truly happy. _"Wow I actually care for someone outside of my family. I don't know how but she brought out something that was inside of me," _he thought.

Jojo stood up still laughing her hair was a hopeless mess that trailed down to her waist like a brown river. "Come on Tao. We should be getting home to help with dinner," said Jojo as she took her little brother's hand.

After they had left Toph started to quiet down. She wiped away tears of mirth, sighed and laid down on the rock she was sitting on. "Is your family always so fun?" she asked bluntly.

Zin startled that she was talking to him said, "What?"

"Is your family always so fun?" she asked again.

"I guess so. I pretty much stay to myself," answered Zin. He started to fiddle around with some grass that grew near her rock as he sat down with his back against her rock.

Toph rolled over, propped her head on her head kind of cutely, faced his general direction and said, "That reminds me a bit of myself. I stayed pretty much away from my family too. Well as much as you can when you're confined in a house with them. They thought I was just a helpless little girl that needed their protection. Well I sure showed them."

"I guess we are a lot alike," said Zin. He thought for a second, turned around so he could see her face clearly, leaned toward her and kissed her. Toph's sightless eyes widened in surprise when he quickly broke off the kiss and walked away before he could see her reaction.

She lay there for a second, her mind blank, shook her head and thought to herself while she smirked, _"Hmmm. Apparently Zin likes me. Well I'll show him it'll take more than a kiss to win me over." _She placed her hand on the ground and focused until she found Zin. She swung over on the rock, placed her feet firmly on the rock and sent a mound of dirt his way. She could feel him trip over it and she snickered. _"Now on with the game."_ She leaned back and waited for Zin to storm over to her and ask why she did that.

When he didn't come Toph sighed and walked back to the house searching for him. He was whittling something out of wood near one of the numerous fireplaces in the house. Sokka was there too. He was lying on some pillows eating some of Tao's chicken dumplings.

"Would one of you _men_ get me a drink of water? I can't really see the water as it come out as it isn't solid earth," said Toph as she crossed her arms and expected Zin to get it for her. Instead Sokka beat him to the well outside and got her a drink. "Why did you do that?" she asked rudely as he handed her a cup of water.

"Why not?" countered Sokka. "I can help my friends can't I?" He sat down a little dejected and Toph could feel it. He started to stuff his face with the dumplings with embarrassment.

"It's just you don't usually do that sort of thing for little ol' me Snozzels," said Toph. _"I think you might like me too Snozzels,"_ concluded Toph in her head. _"Oh, this is going to get interesting." _


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry I took so long to update. I try to get on once every week but my mom got kind of ticked... Avatara Airbender 

The next day Aang planned a picnic with the help of Tao. They spent most of the morning in the kitchen making a lunch for them all. They made not so common roasted chicken, sandwiches, fresh bread and butter, fruit and Aang even made some cakes that Gyatso had taught him to make. They packed it all up in a basket and Aang went to round up the rest of the people who were coming.

"Who wants to go on a picnic?" he called when he walked into the room where everybody was talking. Some people mumbled, but Malu shot right up.

"Oh me, me! I want to go!" She walked over people and joined Aang near the doorway. She gazed at all of the people not moving and said, "Oh come on you guys! Tao and Aang went through with all of this trouble to make a picnic for all of us and you're not even coming."

"Fine, fine I'll come," grumbled Jamin. "If I don't come you'll probably nag me as soon as you get back." She stood up and stood with the rest of the group.

"What about you Sokka? You don't wanna come?" asked Aang. When Sokka made no response he bribed, "We have roasted chicken."

"No thanks," said Sokka lazily, "But save me some meat when you come back."

"Katara? Toph? You guys sure you don't want to come?" asked Aang.

"No thanks Aang. It was sweet of you to do all of this but I'm tired from practicing with Kana," replied Katara a bit disappointed.

"I don't think so Twinkle Toes. I promised Jojo to show her some moves," said Toph. _"And I want to_ _continue my little game." _But she kept that to herself.

"Oh okay," said Aang a little dejected. "We'll just go then."

They all walked outside carrying the basket, a blanket and several water skins. They headed off into the forest to a meadow that was on top of a hill but was surrounded by the forest. When they got there the whole place was covered with a carpet of small blue flowers. Jamin gently shifted the flowers out of the way so they could lay down the blanket and set out the food. They started talking and eating and having a grand ol' time. Jamin played with the grass and encased them in a grass woven house. After a few hours they had lain down and were playing word games when they heard some footsteps.

"That must be Sokka and Katara. They must have changed their minds," said Aang from a corner where he was reclining.

They all looked at the opening of the house that was the door and waited expectantly for Sokka and Katara to show up. They watched as two silhouettes stepped into the doorway. They all stood up in fright. In the door didn't stand Katara and Sokka as they had thought. There stood Aang's worst enemies. Zuko and Azula. They both smirked in greeting.

"Aang, who are they?" whimpered Malu. She was standing next to him and looked like she was going to start crying.

Azula looked at the girl then said to Aang, "Is this your new girlfriend? Isn't she a bit young?" She inspected her nails and continued, "Did the other girl dump you after she learned you weren't 'powerful' anymore? She probably only stayed with you because you could get her anything she wanted. Now you're nothing but a worthless little boy." She stopped inspecting her nails and watched Aang intently to see what he would do to defend his friend.

Sure enough Aang's anger started to boil over. His face was starting to turn red. "Don't you ever say something like that about Katara ever again! She's a great friend! She would never leave just because I couldn't bend!" He started to glow slightly but no wind came. Zuko looked scared for a second but when he noticed that nothing was happening he continued to sneer.

Azula just stood there smirking at him then like lightening grabbed Tao by the scruff of the neck, created a spark of blue flame and put it in front of Tao's face. Tao tried to squirm out of her grasp but she held on firmly. "Now if you all come with us your friend here might not get burned."

Aang looked from Tao to Malu. She was whimpering and tears were already cascading down her face. He then looked at Jamin and was taken aback a bit. She was shaking with fear. Cool, collected Jamin was scared. Apparently she could tell how evil these people were. Aang held out his hands in front of him as a sign of surrender and said, okay, we'll come with you. Just put Tao down."

Azula smiled wickedly and let go of Tao. But only before she made a bright flame in front of his face and blinded him.

Tao crumpled on the ground sobbing. Jamin finally unglued herself and went to her brother's aid. She knelt by him, but stayed as far away from Azula as she could, and checked him out. "It's okay. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay," she soothed. She led her brother to a corner and started to bandage her brother's eyes with strips from her dress. She sat there whispering to him as she wound the strips over his blinded eyes. As soon as she was done she quickly made a hole in the wall and shouted, "Go!" Tao scrambled out and Jamin sealed up the hole and stood in front of the wall defensively. She was still shaking but she was defiant to them.

Azula and Zuko didn't even move. Zuko faked a yawn and said, "Nice try. He's not going to get far. Mai and Ty Lee are posted around the meadow."

Sure enough they heard TY Lee's giggling and Mai's grumbling as they started to chase Tao. Of course no one could see what was happening but they heard Ty Lee screech and Mai swear loudly. Then they were standing with Azula and Azula talking.

"He sent mice at me. He squeaked a bit and mice jumped out at me. That boy is freaky. He can talk with animals," said Ty Lee as she shivered.

Mai stood next to Zuko casually linking arms with him and grumbled, "He hissed and snakes lunged at me. I don't like snakes and it was a waste of knives to kill them." She rolled her eyes and made a big show of cleaning her bloody knives.

"Enough chatting ladies. We have some 'guests' to pack up," smiled Azula.

Ty Lee looked in the building hopefully but didn't find the person she was looking for. "Oh that handsome boy isn't here," she said a little crestfallen. "Oh well he's probably close by." She started to look around but suddenly remembered her task.

The two girls got out some rope and tied the prisoners together. They didn't even struggle not even Jamin. They started to file out and were led to waiting rhinos. They clambered onto them and rode into the forest.


	8. Chapter 8

Now I'm going to require 5 reviews before I add a new chapter. So review to the wind. 

Tao stumbled into the house led by a badger. "Zin, Jojo! Come help, help!" he yelled into the house.

They ran to him followed by Katara, Sokka, and Toph. They looked at him in shock. He was all dirty, he was holding onto the scruff of a badger and he had bandages around his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Katara.

"Where's my meat?" accused Sokka. Everyone looked at him in scorn. "What? I'm hungry!"

"Malu. Jamin," sobbed Tao. Jojo comforted him and continued, "And Aang. A boy and a girl came and they asked Aang to come with them then the girl grabbed me. Aang said we would go with them. Then she did something to me and now I can't see. They took them. They took all of them!" He started to sob again and Jojo started to sooth him and lead him away.

"Well that's it. I'm going after them," said Jin as if he had finally made a hard choice.

_"Hmm. That's one good thing about Zin. He cares about his family," _thought Toph.

"I'm going with you," added Sokka on an impulse. He already had his club and boomerang.

_"He also cares even though he's not exactly related to anyone,"_ thought Toph. In her head there was a balancing scale and both sides were pretty equal. "Well of course I'm coming with you. Someone has to baby sit you two," said Toph.

"Toph-"started Zin.

"Okay. How about we leave in an hour. Okay?" said Sokka cutting Zin off.

Zin shook his head slightly but said, "Okay." He went off to check on his brother.

Sokka and Katara went off to pack any needed supplies.

_"Sokka seemed okay about me coming. I don't know what Zin's problem is. I can handle myself," _thought Toph. Now Sokka's side of the scale was heavier.

An hour later on the dot they set off into the woods. They walked for about 10 minutes until Toph asked, "Do you guys even know where you're going?"

The boys looked at each other and shared a shake of their heads. Then Zin said, "Well _I'm_ heading toward where they usually have their picnics. It's a meadow on top of the hill in front of us. "

Sokka and Toph both shrugged as if to say, "What do we have to lose?" They all continued walking until they got to the meadow. They could see something against the darkening sky. They cautiously approached it and looked at it. It was a house grown out of grass. They slowly peered inside to see of the occupants were still inside. All they found was a blanket and the last of the food from the previous occupants last meal.

"This must have been where they had the picnic," said Sokka to break the silence that had followed them.

"No, really?" scoffed Toph. _"Oh my gosh. He is such a dolt at times."_ In her mind's eye Zin's side was more in favor. "It's starting to grow dark. We should stay here for tonight." She walked into the grass woven house. The boys followed her as if they were walking into a tomb.

They finished the rest of the food that was lying around and lay down to sleep. Toph lay awake thinking about the boys who were lying away from her separately. The scale was now pretty even again. Sokka had made up his thickness by giving her some of his extra food instead of eating it all like he usually did. She had given him a strange look acting like the part of the oblivious girl. He awkwardly made an excuse and left. _"Oh well. I think I should make up my mind soon about who I like."_ She turned over and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Aang woke up feeling the sun on his face. There was something sticking into his back and his shoulder hurt. He was about to fall back asleep when the past five days came rushing back to him. Startled he opened his eyes and found himself in a camp where there were Fire Nation soldiers posted all over the place. He remembered he was tied to a large tree and that Jamin and Malu were tied to another tree opposite of him. He looked over and was about to shout until he noticed that the soldier that was crouching in front of the girls was talking to them lovingly. _"That must be their father,"_ thought Aang. He looked around and didn't see their captors_. "They must still be sleeping"._

He was about to go back to sleep because he had nothing else to do when the Fire Nation soldier came to Aang with a plate of food and some water. He then understood why everyone said Zin looked a lot like his father. This man had dark cropped hair, a kind face and a twinkle in his eye that said don't mess with me. He quietly fed Aang and said quietly so no one else could hear, "Jamin says it's been five days. If it means anything to you."

He left and Aang pondered that for a while until he remembered. To see if it was true he blew and sure enough it rustled some leaves on top of his tree. Excitedly he earthbended some earth to snap his bounds. Quickly he knocked out the guards except the their father and stole toward the girls and untied them.

"It was about time," said Jamin as she rubbed her wrists to gain back the circulation in her hands.

Aang rolled his eyes. The soldier came toward them and hugged the girls. He beamed toward Aang and shook his hand warmly. "Thank you for rescuing my little girls. Those four are so vile. I don't know if I could have stood it if they touched them. Thank you. You better hurry."

They took off into the woods after a few more good byes. After they were out of shouting range Aang took out a wooden whistle that was in the shape of a flying bison and blew hard with a little help from some wind.

Miles away Appa's ears twitched and he woke up from his depressed slumber. He groaned loudly and charged out of the barn that he was staying in. He leapt into the air and soared through the skies to find Aang and bring him back. On the way he flew over the grass house just as Toph woke up. She heard him fly overhead and gave a woop.

Meanwhile Aang and the girls waited for Appa. Finally Malu jumped up and pointed to the sky. "He's here! He's here!"

As soon as he had landed they all scrambled on and took off. Just in time because Azula and Zuko just walked into the clearing they were in. They threw all their fire power at them to no avail. Appa was already out of reach.

Azula growled and said "Lieutenant Sho, did you have anything to do with this?"

"No princess. I hid when he knocked out the others," replied Jamin and Malu's father.

"You better be telling the truth," growled Azala. "Pack up camp," barked Azula. "We're going back to Ba Sing Se."

On the way back the gang flew over the grass house but this time they all saw (heard) it. "They're back! They're back!" yelled Sokka. He didn't even bother to pack and ran down the wooded hill to the house where Appa was landing.

Toph and Zin quickly packed everything and ran after Sokka laughing with relief. Jojo, Tao and Katara came running when they saw Appa land with three passengers. Jojo and Tao went running toward the group as they climbed off of Appa. Then soon Sokka came crashing through the trees and joined in on the celebrations soon followed by Zin and Toph. They all started to hug each other.

Aang started to look around for Katara but couldn't find her in the hugging throng. Then he spotted her off aways looking at him with tears in her eyes. Aang broke away and walked towards her. He gently wiped away her tears. She smiled and started to move closer to him. He stood up and kissed her on the mouth with as much passion as true love can allow. She kissed him back with all the love that over flowed from her heart.

Meanwhile in the jumping party Toph and Sokka finally got to hug each other. Toph leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Zin saw this and decided to let her go. He saw how happy she looked with Sokka and loved her enough to let her go. They all went inside the house to make a feast to celebrate the return of the girls and Aang.

A few days later 2 couples climbed onto Appa to finish their journey. They all turned and waved back to the family that had helped them. Toph waved especially to Zin. Even after their ordeal they decided to stay close friends and write to each other. They waved one last time and after Aang said "Yip, yip," they took off into the sky heading toward their next adventure.

Epilogue 

Toph and Zin eventually grew apart. Zin went and married a beautiful Fire Nation girl. After a month Tao regained the use of his eyes. He later became known as the Animal Whisperer. Jojo followed Toph's advice and became an earthbender champion. Jamin became the most renowned healer in all four nations. Malu eventually mastered airbending with the help of Aang. Who came over sometimes to check up on the family. Kana didn't really make a title for herself anywhere. She did help Jamin with her healing jobs though. And well the Aang gang lives as the story unfolds around them.


End file.
